The WTS sure has a history of flip flopping on this doctrine.
Back in 1941, the stance was that marriage would occur after Armageddon - in the New World. The children were told not to marry, and that their mates would be selected for them in the New World.
A while back, I listened to Judge Rutherford's main talk on Sunday to the children at the ST. Louis summer convention in 1941 and these are the notes I made at the time. Sorry for the length.
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The talk was heavy on parental obligation, even though the talk was directed to the children. The children, though, were treated as though they were the special ones - the ones chosen to put the new Kingdom in place, the ones 'selected' to be the children of the King.
Near the beginning of the talk, the children are told about Adam - they are told that Adam was killed by God because of disobedience. Adam was selfish. And then Rutherford slipped in a little comment that I almost missed because he pauses after the first part of the sentence, and then drops his voice and says, speaking of Adam's death punishment and selfishness (around the 8:40 mark... ) :
...he was selfish, and that unfailing rule...that applies to all who follow us in the courts.
He emphasizes that Christ Jesus the King "is present" and has been present since 1914. The paternalistic nature of the Society's Government is stressed - each time Rutherford says "paternalistic", he emphasizes the word. And when Rutherford speaks of the ransom sacrifice, it follows one of the many references to obedience. Just like God killed Adam, he also killed/ransomed his other son too. Full obedience to the Law of Jehovah is stressed - obedience is the theme of the talk.
The children are told that "if you hope to live you will willingly give yourself to Jehovah". The parents are told to "constantly keep the name of Jehovah before the children" and to "show love by instilling the children with thoughts of Theocratic government". And "teach" and "in this, Do Not Fail - keep constantly before them the Kingdom".
The children are told to "obey your parents in the Lord". This is emphasized - in the Lord - because then Rutherford asks what about "if your parents aren't 'in the Lord'?" and this is what he tells them 'then...get someone else!" here he pauses a little bit and completes his sentence in a quieter voice, while the applause mounts: "...to instruct you in the Lord."
The children are told that they have a "bounden duty" to carry the message and "you will do so willingly" because..."it is a privilege" and they will be given "safety and life" in the Theocracy.
It is in this talk that Rutherford tells the children that "marriage is a mockery" and that marriage will be "sacred under God in the New World" and that a woman/wife is "a bag of bones and a hank of hair". That last comment, by the way, was followed with thunderous applause from the 115,000 who were listening.
Rutherford speaks of the separation of goats and sheep and makes a comment about "billy goats" smelling. This is a direct reference to one of his quotes he made earlier in a another talk when he was speaking of the necessity of attacking the Catholic Church - which was another running theme of the Assembly that accused the Catholics of being a 'fifth column'. He had made this comment in a previous talk at the assembly that seems to tie the Jews and the Catholic priests together:
The attack we have got to make is just what Jesus did. You know that when Jesus was on earth the religionists wore long robes. They didn't have much of lace curtains at that time; they wore phylacteries, greased their head with goat grease, and smelled a good deal like billies. And, no doubt, that is where Jesus got the thought that it was a 'goat' class. He meant the Jews of that class of billy-goats with long whiskers, and long faces that smelled to the top of the mountain.
He had made the reference to the 'goat class' when he was speaking to the children because he was telling them about the 'selection process' that was going to occur once the Theocratic Government was established. The children were told that they wouldn't marry until "the Lord will select for marriage". In the "new world", the children would have mates "selected" for them that were suitable for them. And Rutherford said that this selection process was going to be done by the helper class - the Jonabads. They were the ones who were going to do the selection process and they would decide who would marry whom in the Theocratic Kingdom that would be governed by the Watchtower Society. And then, those children would have the perfect children who "would fill the earth". (find this on the audio recording about 33:33) And, they would be joined by "Barak and Deborah" - Rutherford reveals that Deborah is "a real woman".
